Obama Cancels His Appearance At Both Of Today's Campaign Events Because Of Hurricane Sandy

President Barack Obama has now nixed both planned campaign events today, a result of "deteriorating conditions" caused by Hurricane Sandy in Washington, D.C., and beyond.

From the White House:

"Due to deteriorating weather conditions in the Washington area, the President will not attend today's campaign event in Orlando. The President will return to the White House to monitor the preparations for and early response to Hurricane Sandy."

This is the first tangible effect of a storm that could have a big effect on election proceedings just eight days before Election Day.

Obama was scheduled to appear with former President Bill Clinton in both Orlando and Youngstown, Ohio, today, in what would have likely been two of his more memorable recent campaign stops. At the Ohio stop, Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to join. The Obama campaign announced the cancellation of the Ohio stop on Sunday.

Per the White House pool report, Clinton will still attend the rally in Orlando.

This is just a blip of the effect Sandy could have on the election. Sandy has also forced at least one state (Maryland) to cancel early voting procedures on Monday. The Romney campaign has canceled a planned Tuesday night rally in New Hampshire. And overall, Obama will have to balance campaigning and commander-in-chief duties as the storm approaches the east coast.